Welcome to Below Deck Sailing Yacht episode 4, where it’s day two of Charter Two. Chief Engineer Colin MacRae was coaching First Mate Gary King on how to handle his deckhand Chase Lemacks and his attitude. Chase was questioning everything his boss told him to do, which is not okay with Gary. Or bosses in general.
“I’ve been working on boats for 12 years,” Gary said, “so please just shut up and listen to me.” Somebody’s going to have a come-to-Jesus moment soon, if he doesn’t stop with the backtalk.
Meanwhile, as much as Captain Glenn Shephard wanted to take his sailing yacht out for an actual sail, the wind wasn’t cooperating. He walked out on deck to give the guests the bad news, “Well, it seem like we’re not going to get the winds,” he told them. “I don’t know if we’ll be doing much sailing.” But he did promise they’d get to play with all the water toys in the warm Mediterranean Sea.
“It’s okay, we understand,” the primary charter guest said. Wow. These guests are so much nicer than the first charter guests were.
While the guests were enjoying their breakfast of smoked salmon benedict (yum!), Chief Stew Daisy Kelliher went to check on her junior stews working in the cabins below.
“Getting negative feedback from Glenn the last charter,” Daisy admitted, “honestly, makes me feel like I’m sh***y at my job. It was pain to the core.” Service needed to be impeccable on this trip. So Daisy decided to train the girls “as much as I can, just to make sure that Glenn stays the f*** off my back.”
Sea snakes in the galley
Sweet Colin was lending a hand in the kitchen, while Chef Ileisha Dell was prepping ingredients for later in the day. “Have you ever cleaned an eel before?” she asked him, handing him a bag containing the sea snake. She was planning to slice it up and make sushi for lunch.
When he peeked into the bag, the eel moved. “It’s still f***ing alive!” he cried.
Ileisha was grossed out (me too!). Having grown up in Australia, she has a fear of snakes and related an absolutely horrifying story about when she was a little girl and a python crawled through her bathroom window. The snake wrapped itself all the way around the tub — while she was in it! Her dad had to chop its head off to kill it. Ugh. I’m never going to Australia. Too many things there want to kill you.
Junior stew Lucy Edmunds and Ileisha watched with revulsion as Colin put the eel “out of its misery” and blithely chopped off its head with a sharp knife. Thank god for Colin. I don’t think Ileisha could have done that by herself. So gross. And the worst part was that it kept wriggling after its head was detached. Ewwwwww!
While the guests got ready for swimming, Daisy radioed that she was going on break for an hour. “Lucy, help Madison [Herrera]. The cabins still need to be done.”
The guests wanted to play with the e-foils, but sadly, someone forgot to charge them after their last use. “This is going to take a while,” Gary sighed.
Lucy goes to the beach while Daisy’s napping
Some of the guests wanted to visit a nearby beach. Chase volunteered to take them over in the tender, and Gary asked Lucy if she were free to go along and serve drinks, but she said she was busy.
So Gary kind of passive aggressively went to complain to Glenn, “I just think it’s nice when they’re taking drinks on the tender for someone to help him. But I’m sure he can do it by himself.”
Glenn took the bait and went off to question Lucy. “How many of you guys are up right now?”
“Daisy’s asleep,” Lucy said, adding that she didn’t want to bother her while she’s resting. “There’s [only] two of us.”
But Glenn wasn’t afraid to disturb Daisy. “I’ll make the call,” he said. “One of you go can go in the tender.”
So Lucy went off for a boat ride, leaving Mads to clean all the guest cabins by herself. Nice.
Chase has a very high opinion of himself. “Thank god I’m, like, self-motivated,” he bragged. “There’s a certain standard in this industry that these guests are expecting.” Cue the scene of Gary waiting for the water toys to charge that Chase forgot to plug in.
“If I was green and this was my first boat,” Chase bloviated, “and I was lost and need to be taught everything, considering Gary’s leadership style, we would be f***ed.” I can’t wait to watch Gary bring this guy down a peg or two.
When Daisy woke up from her nap, she went to check on the progress in the cabins and found Mads working alone. She had wanted to send Lucy down to get started on laundry, but was annoyed to find that Lucy was off the boat with the guests. “We don’t have time for this sh**,” she muttered as she walked away.
As she went on deck, Daisy spotted Colin and Gary frollicking in the water with the e-foils. “Are you f***ing kidding me?” she said angrily to herself. “Why has Lucy gone in the tender when there’s two boys f***ing around on water sports?” she complained to Ileisha. Tell it to the captain, Daisy. “It’s far too f***ing early in the season to start getting pissed about this sh**.”
“Are you f***ing kidding me?” Daisy asked in an interview. “So the girls need to permanently be with the guests, but the boys can just be f***ing around? I’m f***ing fuming.”
Chase has no game
On the return ride from the beach, Chase confided in Lucy that he was hoping for “something to happen” with Mads once the guests leave and the crew can party. Smirking, Chase implied that he “came to play, if you know what I mean.”
Of course, Lucy passed on this information as soon as she returned, telling Mads, “I reckon he fancies you or something.”
“That’s literally not happening,” Mads stated emphatically. “It was one kiss, bro. Relax.”
“It’s not that I’m not interested in Chase,” she continued. “It’s the fact that Chase has no game … there’s a lot of other guys on this yacht. I’m sure I can find other options.” She did, after all, “come for the party.”
“I love samples,” Mads laughed.
At 2pm, the other deck hand Alex Propson, woke up for the day. He was on the late shift the night before, so he got to sleep in. “Good morning, princess!” Mads greeted him.
Following a flirty exchange with Mads (who obviously preferred Alex to boring Chase), Alex admitted in an interview, “Typically I date models with daddy issues, and that has not gone extremely well.” I think he’s ready to try another type. Like a cabin stew, perhaps?
“Mads is kind of new for me,” he added. “She’s not high maintenance, and she doesn’t really give a f***. Maybe it’s time for me to break the mold a little bit.” Isn’t that what I just said?
As the guests were seated at the table, Mads started spooning rice onto their plates. “Thank you, honey,” guest Ashley told her.
“Why do I keep saying ‘honey?'” she asked her friends. “Does that mean I’m getting old?” Yup. I’ve started having the same urge when talking to anyone the same age as my son. We’re both turning into grandmas.
Even though lunch was a little bit late, Daisy assured Ileisha she was fine. “These guests are so lovely,” she said, “I feel like they don’t really care, which I’m grateful for.”
While the guests were enjoying a delicious sushi lunch, Captain Glenn was motoring to their next anchorage. No sailing today, as there wasn’t any wind.
Chase chaps Gary’s hide
“You’re gonna go down [for a rest] at 3:00,” Gary told Chase.
But Chase had other ideas. “I might just come up and help you set the rope swing later,” he argued, “and then go to sleep.” So you’re making your own schedule now, are you Chase?
But rather than drawing a line with him, Gary answered, “Okay, up to you, yeah. It’s gonna be a long season, though.”
Chase had an answer for that, too. “But we get a day off tomorrow, you know what I mean?”
Gary was frustrated, but let it go. “It doesn’t seem like anything I tell him matters,” he interviewed.
Finally he told Chase, “For f***’s sake, just take your f***ing break. F***ing hell.” That’s right, Gary! You’re the boss. You tell him!
But Chase had to have the last word, “If I get tired and rattled and I’m not taking my breaks, you know what I mean?”
“Then you’re gonna be in sh**, yeah,” Gary said. Just tell him to go take a break, Gary. Nip it in the bud, cause it’s only gonna get worse.
Finally Daisy confronted Gary about her annoyance earlier when she was short a stew, and she spotted Gary and Colin playing with the water toys.
To his credit, Gary immediately told her, “If you need something, just [ask] . . . because I’m happy to help out.” This seemed to placate her.
“I’ve learned by now,” Gary interviewed, “it’s far easier licking Daisy’s arse than trying to disagree with her. So I will keep contained and just say what she wants to hear.”
“Let’s see what happens this season, Daisy, between you and I,” he told her.
“Oh, f*** off!” she joked.
After arguing with Gary about taking a break to rest, Chase was shown napping in the crew mess area. Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in your own bed, Chase?
The rope swing was ready. After Gary showed the guests how to do it, guest Justin Guarini (American Idol Season 1 runner-up) executed a perfect jump into the water. Sadly, the guest following Justin on the swing, Kelly, demonstrated what not to do: a perfect bellyflop. “Kelly ate sh**,” Chase commented. Ouch!
“Are you okay?” they asked her. “No,” she called up to the deck. “I hurt my right boob.” That could be bad if she had implants. Real boobs can take it, though.
Colin popped into the galley as Ileisha was preparing another fabulous dinner. “Need some help?” he offered. “I’ve got a bit of time, if you want.” What a sweetie! But Ileisha’s got things under control, so no help needed at the moment.
While the guests were sipping bourbon at the table, the primary suddenly told her husband, “We never took the clothes off the floor of the bathroom!”
“Oh, good god,” he responded. “That’s absolutely right. I’ll handle that.”
When he ran into Mads in the hallway outside their room, he asked, “You haven’t done that room, have you?”
When she said they already had, he answered, “Oh, my gosh. That was exactly why I was coming down here. It was not intended for you guys to have to come clean up this colossal clutter of a mess.”
They assured him they were to pick up after the guests. “That’s our job. Relax! Go back up there and enjoy the bourbon!” Are these the nicest guests ever? I think they are.
Anchor watch is such a drag
As the happy guests made their way to bed and their last sleep onboard the Parsifal III, Glenn instructed Alex on anchor watch. “There’s hardly any wind at all,” he said, “but keep an eye on it, and you’ll be good.”
At 12:20am the lightning started. By 1:10, the wind was picking up. “Sh**’s about to get weird,” Alex predicted. The waves were starting to swell. Why weren’t the swim platforms put away and the laz closed up? That’s not going to be good when the storm breaks. By 1:20, the wind speed was at 15 knots. Cushions were blowing across the deck and the water in the jacuzzi was slopping over the sides.
By 1:25 the boat was rocking so much, both Glenn and Gary hopped out of their bunks to go check on the situation. Gary didn’t even take the time to dress and arrived on the bridge in his underwear. Gross, Gary!
“Why all of a sudden have we got so much wind?” Glenn asked. Ask God, Glenn.
Apparently the wind had caused the boat to turn and drag the anchor. Both the captain and the first mate said they had felt the anchor drag from their cabins. That’s not a good thing. Why didn’t Alex report it to Glenn when the wind started to pick up?
“Alex has done everything right so far,” Gary said. “He’s followed all the night watch instructions correctly. It’s just Glenn and I have become extremely quick to react after last season’s anchor drag.”
Glenn decided the situation wasn’t serious, and the wind was already dropping. “Just keep a really close eye on it,” he told Alex. “Anything over 20 [knots], come get us.” And they returned to their cabins. Crisis averted.
The next morning, Glenn and the deck crew prepared to motor back to the port, as the guests enjoyed breakfast. Ileisha was thrilled not to have to cook again for the rest of the day once breakfast was done.
On deck Gary attempted to teach Chase how to coil the lines while the boat was underway, and as usual, Chase was arguing with him. The newbie tried to justify his method, but Gary corrected him, “No, mate. It’s all about being prepared.”
“Copy that,” Chase said, while muttering under his breath, “Everybody’s picky.”
In an interview, Chase complained, “I cannot catch a f***ing break with this guy. He’s just looking for a reason to be upset.” Just do it Gary’s way, Chase, and life will be a lot easier for you.
While the captain was backing the boat into a tight spot at the dock, the guests were mesmerized by all the communication and navigation skill it takes just to park the boat. “It’s way too much excitement,” one of the ladies commented.
Despite wanting to hide away and not leave, the guests said their goodbyes, citing the kindness exhibited by Glenn, Gary and Daisy. Chase gave a little snort of derision. Rude!
Charter #2 was in the books. “Well done, guys,” said Glenn, as he high-fived everyone.
While the cabin crew were working hard straightening up the guest cabins, the deck crew was hanging out in the sun, speculating on who would be hooking up with whom on their night off. Gary was complaining that he was late to the party (since he’d been in Covid quarantine) and everyone else had already called dibs on the girls. “Bru, I’m gonna be a fly on the wall, I tell you,” he claimed.
Gary asked Colin who he had his eye on, now that he was a single man. “I would make out with either of the blondies,” Colin admitted.
“Gary has had it so easy for the last two seasons,” Colin said in a production interview. “He’s always had the girls fighting over him, and this is the first time he’s got a little bit of competition. It’s gonna be interesting to see how this pans out.”
“I don’t cause drama,” Gary laughed. “Drama just tends to find me.” That’s for sure.
At 4:00 pm, Captain Glenn called for everyone to the salon for the tip meeting. Yay! Money!
Glenn said it was a “complete 180” from the first charter. He complimented the whole crew on how well they all worked together. When Gary said he was “very happy” with his team, Chase rather aggressively (no passive about it) shook his head in disagreement. That boy’s gonna get himself in trouble sooner or later. Could be tonight, when everybody gets their post-charter drink on.
But the highlight of the tip meeting, of course, is the tip itself. In this case, a fat $23,000 US, or $2250 Euros per person. Come on, Glenn! You can’t suddenly switch from dollars to Euros and expect me to understand what you’re talking about. It’s like going from farenheit to celcius. I get confused. [By the way, $2250 Euros is just less than $2475 US dollars. Google is my friend.]
Glenn had barely passed out the cash when klutzy Lucy said, “I’ve lost my money.”
“You’ve lost your money already?” he asked in amazement. “It’s right there by your foot.” Be more careful, girl. You worked hard for that money.
Commence the drunken behavior
Time to party. The girls were in one van, while the boys were all in another on the way to dinner. The conversation in both vans was the same: who would everyone be hooking up with tonight? Daisy admitted, “I think Colin’s so hot.” Hold that thought, Dais.
At dinner, Gary kept telling Mads, “You look gorgeous tonight! Red’s definitely your color,” admiring her red dress.
“F*** off,” Mads told him every time he spoke to her. “I don’t believe anything that comes out of your mouth.”
Watching Gary and Mads flirt from across the table, Chase told Colin, “I’m gonna cry myself to sleep, man.”
“F***in’ Gary,” Chase complained in an interview. “I literally just admitted to him that I liked her.” Get used to it, Chase. Gary flirts with all the pretty girls. He can’t help himself.
“I know a snake when I see a snake,” the South Carolina native said. “And Gary’s kind of an asshole.” Oh, Chase. You give up too easily. But then none of the girls seems all that interested in you anyway, especially with that pissy attitude.
In an attempt to lighten the mood at the table, Colin said, “Gary, we should do a job swap. Just for fun.”
“I can do engine,” Daisy piped up, “’cause there’s not much to do.” Daisy was blatantly flirting with Colin!
“Ooooooh,” Gary responded. “Shots fired,” as Colin pretended to be stabbed in the heart.
Gary was still holding a torch for Daisy, but Daisy was keeping him at arm’s length. “Honestly, I can’t read Gary,” she said. “Like I see the way he behaves with me, but he behaves that way with every other single girl. So for me, it’s kind of hard to take seriously.”
Meanwhile, as the crew were enjoying a beautiful al fresco dinner, poor Glenn was scavenging the boat for something to eat. “Nothing good in here,” he was saying, as he rummaged through a cupboard.
Walking away from dinner, Mads and Alex were holding hands. “Look at these two cutie pies,” Ileisha crowed. Gary had his arm around Lucy’s shoulders and absentmindedly patted her boob. “Oh sh**!” he exclaimed, jumping away from her in embarrassment. She just laughed.
Back to the boat and straight into the hot tub, the bacchanal continued. “Let’s play Spin the Bottle,” Alex suggested.
“Let’s not,” Daisy responded.
As the party died down and the crew wandered off to bed, only Gary, Mads and Alex remained in the jacuzzi. Alex was falling asleep in the water. “Dude, you’re gonna drown,” Mads told him. “Go to bed. You’re literally asleep in the hot tub.”
Once they convinced Alex to call it a day, Gary and Mads were left all alone in the jacuzzi. “My two deckies are fighting over you,” Gary told her. “I don’t want to cut people’s grass, but at the end of the day, f*** them, they’re just deckhands.” And then of course, he moved in for a big kiss, cause that’s just what Gary does.
Below Deck Sailing Yacht continues Mondays at 8/7c on Bravo.
TELL US – WHO DO YOU THINK MADS WILL END UP WITH IN THE END? DO YOU THINK CHASE WILL CHANGE HIS ATTITUDE? OR DO YOU THINK HE’LL END UP GETTING FIRED?